“Rtvelisi” is a quality focused Georgian wine producer company. The company was founded by friends who had owned vineyards in Kakheti and had been engaged in viticulture and winemaking for years. The history of the company “Rtvelisi” begins from1920. During the period the company renovated the ancestral wine cellar that was transferred from generation to generation. At present, “Rtvelisi’s” pitcher wine is made in this cellar.

The idea of ​​establishing a company was born during one of the vintages and the name was called on the very spot. The vintage means gathering of the closest people together and picking the most valuable product for Georgians, doesn’t it?!

The name “Rtvelisi” accurately expresses the 8000-year-old tradition of grape picking, joy and respect for the vine.

The company produces high quality wine and other alcoholic beverages of the grape origin, such as: classic Georgian wine, traditional pitcher wine, sparkling wine, brandy and chacha.

The goal of the company was defined from the very first day of its establishment - to introduce its name with high quality and unforgettable taste on Georgian and global markets.

“Rtvelisi” wines are already very popular both in Georgia and overseas.

Tornike Chikadze, General Director of “Rtvelisi”, spoke to “The Georgian Times” about the company and its challenges.

- When and how did you come up with an idea to establish the company come and who is the author of that idea?

- My partners and me have been involved in viticulture and winemaking since 2015, and in 2018 we figured out that we were ready to take this business even further. Certainly, our first and foremost goal was quality assurance. We have renovated the old wine cellar in which our pitcher wine is being made today. We were wondering if we could work on the local market and decided that it would be a very great challenge for us to introduce ourselves here as Georgian consumers are demanding. By doing so, we attempted to set our target for ourselves.

- Why should consumers buy your wine? What special niche do you have? 

- Quality is the niche that our company has had since its establishment and will continue to have in the future. We will be introduced by this niche every time and everyplace.

We completely immersed in our business which drove us to feel that the quality is the only justifiable thing. Selling quality is the easiest thing to do.

- How many wine grape varieties and types do you produce?

- At this stage, we are introduced with 11 classic and pitcher grape wine varieties on the Georgian market. However, we position ourselves with 25 grape wine varieties on a global basis. We offer the widest possible range of grape wine varieties to our partners. We are glad that our pitcher grape wine takes one of the most important places for export.

- Is your wine exported and if so, specifically, where?

- Despite the pandemic and the fact that we are a relatively new company on the Georgian market, we managed and exported our products to 10 countries - mostly in Europe.

The major selling markets of our products include: Austria, Germany, France, England, Belarus, Ukraine, Canada, China, Czech Republic, America. Exports to the following countries are planned in the near future: Poland, Switzerland, Russia.

To be honest, it is also very surprising for us that we were able to do all this amid the pandemic. This is probably due to the fact that all the employees of the company worked selflessly. I think it is teamwork and quality control that we care about the most. This is the main driving force for the success. We set impossible missions and then enjoy our accomplishments. We have made very ambitious plans for 2021 and we try not to be afraid and follow them to the end.

Pitcher wine takes a very important place at exports. We exported limited pitcher grape wine but in almost every country. Special interest comes from European countries, which makes us very happy. We are very proud of pitcher grape wine and we try to introduce this product to all our partner companies.

- What success has the company achieved so far?

- It is not an easy thing to achieve success on Georgian market, because this market is the most critical. However, we are satisfied with the success we have already achieved. We already have permanent customers on Georgian market, the number of whom is growing day by day. As I have already mentioned, our team is not dissatisfied with the export success either and we are looking forward to an even more fruitful year.

- How did the pandemic period affect your company and how did you deal with the challenges?

- I will start with Georgian market. There was an absolute misunderstanding, both in terms of Horeca and the markets. In fact, sales fell by 80%. Absence of international travelers has affected our business likewise others, and in fact, has bankrupted numerous businesses. It was a huge blowout for any company. As for the global market, of course, our partner importers were in a misunderstanding and wondered whether to take further steps. If it were not the pandemic, we would achieve much better results in terms of exports.

- Can you share with us your company's future plans?

- It goes without saying that the next year’s plan has been set out from the very beginning to the end. In 2021, we plan to fully expand in Georgia and also to found new facilities where our grape wine will be sold. We will do our best to make it much more comfortable for our customers to buy our brand. We want to offer as many products as possible to the customers in terms of the range. We also have very ambitious plans to find additional importers.

- What is your biggest goal you want to achieve in the upcoming years?

- Our biggest goal is to make “Rtvelisi” famous for its quality Georgian wine in the world.